Jordanian Court: Women Without Hijab are "Sluts" Unfit to Testify

1 Apr 2014

An Amman appellate court announced last week that a woman who does not cover up or wear a hijab is considered a “slut” and shouldn’t be allowed to testify in court, reportsAlbawada.

The Amman Sharia Court of Appeals accepted a lawyer’s objection to a female witness testifying because she was not wearing a hijab, which the court said would affect the fairness and honesty in her testimony. The court is the highest in Jordan’s religious judiciary.

According to a fatwa on which the court’s decision was based, women who aren’t covered up are “sluts”, and that gives those women a bad name and compromises the reliability of their testimony.

Jordan has a reputation for being a relatively progressive Arab state, though Islamist forces have gained strength in recent years.

The Jordanian Women’s Union, along with lawyers across the Hashemite Kingdom, expressed shock at the decision.

The Women’s Union released a statement that describes the court’s decision as discrimination against women and a violation of the Jordanian Constitution, which considers all Jordanian men and women as equals, and calling for reconsideration of the court’s decision to hold those who aren’t wearing the hijab as not sufficiently fit or honest to testify in court.